3 former Chelsea players with buy-back clauses

Over the past few seasons, Chelsea has become infamous for stockpiling talent. The Blues send more players out on loan than any other Premier League club. However, that strategy is slowly beginning to change.

While the West London club still loans an extraordinary number of players out to their affiliates across Europe (12 this summer alone), they have also started to adopt the continental model of allowing young players to leave on a permanent transfer and inserting a buy-back clause into the deal as insurance.

Clubs such as Barcelona has been making use of this practice for years and the model has slowly crept into the English game with Manchester United inserting buy-back clauses into transfers over recent years also.

The transfer model is very clever as it provides the selling club with immediate transfer funds from the sale of their young prospect while also giving them first-option to buy the player back should the player fulfill their potential.

Chelsea currently boasts an excellent squad, however, they may consider bringing one or all of the following young players back to Stamford Bridge should the need arise.

Below, we look at three former Chelsea players who all have buy-back clauses inserted into their transfer agreements when they moved from Stamford Bridge.

Note: All contract data, transfer fees, and clauses are courtesy of Transfermarkt.com.

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#3 Nathan Ake

Nathan Ake moved to Bournemouth in 2017 but could return to Chelsea

Nathan Ake arrived at Chelsea as a youth for a nominal fee from Feyenoord in 2011. A very high-rated defender, Ake spent just one season with the Chelsea under-18 team before linking up with the first team in 2012.

He made his Premier League debut for the Blues in December of that year at the age of 17 and played the odd cameo role for the club throughout the rest of the 2012/13 Premier League season. At the end of the season, he was voted as Chelsea's Young Player of the Year.

However, he failed to establish himself in the Chelsea first team and became a member of the yearly loan exodus from Stamford Bridge. In 2015, he was loaned to Reading for a month before moving to Watford for the 2015/16 season.

Following that, he was sent down south to Bournemouth on loan for the 2016/17 season and the first half of the next campaign. The Dutch defender was recalled by Chelsea after a year and a half on loan at the Cherries and played a handful of games for the Blues throughout the remainder of the season.

The young center-back's performances on the south coast had impressed Bournemouth manager, Eddie Howe, and in July of 2017, the Cherries bought Ake for €22.8 million. However, Chelsea inserted a buy-back clause into the transfer deal, allowing the Blues to bring Ake back to Stamford Bridge for an undisclosed, pre-arranged fee.

With an aging Gary Cahill and David Luiz, perhaps Maurizio Sarri will activate the clause sooner rather than later.

#2 Bertrand Traore

Bertrand Traore is an exciting young forward who Chelsea may bring back in the future

Bertrand Traore is another player that was spotted by Chelsea scouts at a young age and swiftly brought into the youth setup at Stamford Bridge.

Having come through the youth ranks at Auxerre in France, Traore moved to Chelsea in 2013 for an undisclosed fee reportedly rejecting an offer from Manchester United to link up with the London club. After spending a year with the Chelsea under-21 team, the forward was quickly loaned out to Vitesse, a Chelsea affiliate club in the Netherlands for six months.

Upon his return, he was named in the Chelsea first team squad for the 2015/16 Premier League season. During this time he played 10 times for the Blues, scoring twice. However, he once again entered the loan merry-go-round the following year with a season-long move to Ajax.

After an impressive stint with the Dutch giants, including playing in their 2-0 Europa League defeat to Manchester United, Traore caught the eye of many European clubs who were eager to sign the 22-year-old.

Lyon won the race for his signature with a €10 million plus add-ons offer for the Burkinabé. However, as with Nathan Ake who moved at the same time, Chelsea inserted a buy-back clause into the deal for an undisclosed amount.

Since moving to Ligue 1, Traore has made 30 appearances for Lyon, netting an impressive 14 goals in this time. With Alvaro Morata's struggles in front of goal for the Blues, Sarri could very well seek to bring Traore back to Stamford Bridge in the very near future.

#1 Nathaniel Chalobah

Nathaniel Chalobah could return to Stamford Bridge thanks to a buy-back clause

If there is one player which personifies Chelsea's youth policy over the past few years it is Nathaniel Chalobah. Having joined the Blues Academy from Fulham in 2005, the midfielder has been shipped out on loan all over the place before eventually securing a permanent transfer away from Stamford Bridge.

Chalobah spent five years in the Chelsea youth ranks before moving on loan to Watford, who were in the Championship at the time, for the 2012/13 season. He then spent six months at Nottingham Forrest, Middlesborough, Burnley, and Reading consecutively over the next two years.

For the 2015/16 season, he finally secured a full season loan with Serie A team, Napoli. Having made only five appearances for the Naples club, he finally got a chance in the Chelsea first team, playing a handful of games throughout the 2016/17 season under Antonio Conte.

However, in 2017, his first loan club, Watford came in with a €6.3 million offer which was accepted by the Blues. The transfer included a buy-back clause for an unspecified amount and demonstrated Chelsea's change in attitude towards young players by allowing them to secure permanent moves rather than endless loans.

Interestingly, Chalobah's loan spell at Napoli coincided with a certain Maurizio Sarri's first season in charge of the Naples club. Perhaps the 23-year-old did enough to impress the new Chelsea manager in Italy and Sarri will look to bring him back to Stamford Bridge.